Preprint - the first version sent to the journal for consideration, without peer-reviewing.
Postprint - peer-reviewed version sent to the journal for publication.
Published PDF - published article with the journal style and brand.
Open access - "digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions" (Suber, 2012).
Predatory - Non-academic, hijacked.
Peer review process of reviewing articles by subject specialists of the same field.
The List of Predatory Journals might have some delays with its update and in order to avoid any consequences, you can evaluate the journal using this method.
If seeking advice from your colleagues, supervisors and your research community was not successful, you can refer to the database search to find a suitable journal.
Step 1. Using the keywords relevant to your topic make a search within the following databases:
With the results you got, read the abstracts and find the most relevant articles and identify in which journals they are published. It is advised to select 3-4 journals. Go to the Journal page (the link to the profile is provided within the article information).
Step 2. Check the year coverage within the database, and if the journal is still publishing or not.
Step 3. Before selecting a journal, decide the format of the publication, Open Access, Paid, or Hybrid. Filter accordingly the results.
Step 4. Read the Aim and Scope of the Journal, is your topic a match for them?
Step 5. Read the Author's Guide and apply the instructions to your article. Read several articles within the selected journal, to become more familiar with the requirements and style.
Use the following free tools to search for suitable journals by subject category, publisher, title, abstract and keywords.
